A simple system with a complicated past, Tayac has showcased the best and worst of Humanity over the four centuries in which we have occupied it. Discovered during the early 26th centuryEastern Expansion Program, the G-Class Main Sequence star system was first visited in 2524 by a UPE pilot further exploring the Terra jump point to Magnus. Home to three planets and an asteroid belt, the system, then known as 368A, was classified by surveyors for commercial development, with the innermost planet noted as a potential terraforming candidate.

Due to the bevy of other systems discovered during that decade of expansion, a backlog of planets waiting to be terraformed grew as funding and the necessary resources were claimed as quickly as they were budgeted. It was not until 2539 that the initial steps for terraforming of 368A.01M (Tayac I) were finally taken, and construction on an orbital rig begun. However, before the process could be completed, Humanity’s first official inter-species war erupted in 2541. As the battle against the Tevarin stepped into high gear, all non-essential projects were canceled in order to focus on expanding the war effort and strengthening the Naval fleet; the terraformation of Tayac was one of the projects included in the cutbacks.

The system remained relatively untouched until the conclusion of the war and rise of Ivar Messer to the role of Imperator. With Messer’s expansion of the Empire’s control, Tayac was made a military system, declared off-limits to civilian traffic, and all known jumps into the system were shut off by Naval blockades. Completely removed from the public eye, the truth of what happened there during the Messer regime wasn’t fully known till their reign came to an end centuries later.[1]

Asteroid Belts

A sparse belt with minimal resources, the most noteworthy thing about Tayac’s asteroid belt is that it is home to an orbiting art installation that was commissioned in celebration of the Ark’s centennial. Completed in 2900, the piece, known as the Silent Song, was the joint effort between Human artist Yosef Colt, Xi’An artist Aor, and a Banu fabrication team who all lived and worked together for an entire decade. Some say that the cohabitation was a more impressive achievement than the installation itself.[1]